The real preparation for education is a study of one’s self. The training of the teacher…is something far more than a learning of ideas. It includes the training of character; it is a preparation of the spirit.
Maria Montessori
The world of education for the past year has persistently sailed through uncharted territory. We have been forced to adapt our practice in ways we could never have imagined and become accustomed to, whether we like it or not, a world of asynchronous and synchronous teaching and learning. In my opinion, one of the greatest triumphs has been how leaders and teachers alike, in such creative ways, have both united and supported each other through such ‘unprecedented times’. However, as a teacher that has also kept one foot firmly through the door of student life, I couldn’t help but wonder what course of travel the pandemic has taken our initial teacher training (ITT) trainees on. After all, they are indeed the future of our profession…
Arguably an integral part of ITT is the placement practice. It didn’t take me long to find some statistics to unveil the stark reality of how the pandemic has impacted these. A NFER press release suggested that Covid-19 had reduced the number of primary placements by 20 percent. Alarming I know.
Particularly, as Pandemic aside, we also mustn’t forget the words of wisdom that came out of the Carter review into ITT. The headlines remind us that at the heart of every school are us teachers, and no matter how well organised or detailed the curriculum, well- resourced the building, what really matters most in a child’s education is the quality of teachers. Our duty to maintain this ‘supply’ of outstanding teachers ultimately lies within our ability to support ITT placements, which have been put under remarkable pressure by the pandemic. It would be right to reflect upon how problematic ITT placements have been for school settings and prioritising ITT placements during a global pandemic is definitely something that was a new experience for us all!
This is despite the DfE Covid-19 guidance itself reiterating that:
‘ITT trainees have the potential to play a significant role in supporting school’ with regards to teaching and learning in the pandemic.
Last term, I was privileged enough to witness first-hand the reality of this.
It was the best thing I did, instantly replying my ‘yes please!’ to the email sent out saying ‘who would like a student’. At the time, I saw it as an opportunity to add a string to my ‘professional development bow’. As a teacher who is passionate about learning and higher education, ITT is an unavoidable interest of mine. I am an absolute advocate of ‘sustain ourselves, so we can sustain others’ and in becoming a mentor I knew that this would be another adventure of learning for us both. After all, we would be united in our morale purpose in wanting to make that all-important difference.
Looking back, I was incredibly nervous about supporting an ITT placement, especially as at the time I was working remotely, mid-lockdown. From previous experiences, it has felt that the purpose of ITT placements was about micromanaging student teachers, making sure we were moulding them into our perception of the ‘perfect’ practitioner. Perhaps this ideology had perpetuated people in becoming put off in taking students on, as I very quickly realised this placement was going to have to work very differently. It became clear that I was going to have to stop fixating on the physical nature of what I knew (or thought I knew) an ITT placement to be about. My role as mentor was beyond checking lesson plans and writing up observations, both of which were pretty much impossible to do in the initial stages of the placement. In hindsight and looking back on my experience, I have come to notice some more, possible integral, aspects of what it means to support ITT trainees during their placement practice.
It is an emotional endeavour…
This began with remembering that for many of us teaching is more of a calling than a profession we simply sign ourselves up to. In the first instance, I had to immediately review my perception of ‘support’. It was no good me flinging reams upon reams of lesson plans and pre-recorded lesson material in her direction. What I did instead was began with taking the time to understand, reflect and connect with the journey she had been on so far. This gave me the fullest picture of where she had come from. I began to learn where her passions lay, where she may need more support, and where she was going to naturally thrive. Having invested time in getting to understanding both her and her budding teacher-self I believe reduced the feeling of isolation and created a mutual commitment of we are going to learn together. This emotional understanding provided the firm foundations for this ITT placement.
We must celebrate the successes…
This was such an integral part. Teaching is such a personal endeavour. Our classrooms, both virtual and real-life, are incredibly personal environments. However, because we had invested the time in gaining that mutual understanding, we had created a culture of collaboration rather than competition. There was no me or you, only us (children included!) Through developing this, I was able to properly make the space within my classroom environment for her to safely unlock and understand her teacher identity. I knew mistakes would be made, from me too. However, we committed to and prioritised opportunities where she could and would be daring and teach in ways that celebrated her teacher-stance. Even though the process was incredibly challenging, we found every opportunity to celebrate her successes, and they were very much that, her successes! Her confidence flourished. She felt accomplished. We must never forget or underestimate how important that feeling is for any learner.
Critical reflection is fundamental…
Finally, the product of getting the other two areas right, meant that this probably became the most valuable aspect of supporting my very first ITT placement. We moved away from the obsession with observations and began doing learning conversations. She bravely let me record her and afterwards, I became a host who was there to listen to her unpick her teaching. Yes, there were times where I had to direct the dialogue a little. However, rather than this becoming a tick list of actions at the bottom of an observation record, it became a mutual agreement and one that was fuelled by her understanding and aspiration of where she wanted to go next with her teaching and learning. These dialogues became habits and we became a reflective-rambling double-act. I learned so much about my teaching during this time. I am confident to say that this ITT placement also left me as a better teacher than it first found me…
So, having witnessed firsthand ITT placement during the pandemic, I do 100% agree (for once) with what the DFE guidance had to say. However, this placement did more than just support me it taught me an invaluable lesson. ITT placement can truly teach us how to become better teachers too and this is not something isolated to the learning of our trainees. Pandemic or no pandemic, I would strongly encourage anyone and everyone to make it a professional priority to say yes to an ITT placement. We owe it to both ourselves and future comrades.